Theatre project raises £6,035 through crowdfunding

Plymouth School of Creative Arts used crowdfunding to raise £6,035 to buy theatre and stage equipment.

Mel Tucker, PTFA Chair, Plymouth School of Creative Arts, Plymouth (270 pupils) said: 'Our crowdfunding project was launched to buy curtains, blinds, microphones, stage blocks, flooring and lighting for our school’s fabulous Red House Theatre. The theatre is used by both the school and other community groups, so plenty of people would benefit. Our campaign ran for 28 days – enough time to spread the message, but not so long that we’d lose momentum. We kept people updated throughout and thanked all those who had helped us reach each milestone.

Large pledges from some of our supporters who also use the space at the theatre, such as Plymouth Performing Arts Academy, eatmusic Radio, and Plymouth Redeemer Church, boosted our total and suddenly brought our goal within reach! We also received £2,500 from Plymouth City Council. This created a real buzz of excitement, especially as people began to realise that we were well on our way to being successful.

Our pupils created a fantastic video for our crowdfunding page. We promoted our campaign in our weekly bulletin, on our website, Facebook, and by handing out flyers at events. Social media was by far the most effective medium for reaching people, and at one point I even suggested that people pledge just to shut me up!

Our rewards offered people a front-row seat at a school production, annual family season tickets, ‘thank you’ letters from students, badges, and a free programme. We also had a special one-off reward, where the first pledger to donate £300 would receive a bespoke piece of artwork – this went within a couple of days! We smashed our target of £5,000 with time to spare, and our final total was a fantastic £6,035!'